Glaçage's Baked Goods

The Godmother noted Naoki's curious look and chuckled softly. She'd seen cats watch people like that, but she'd never seen a person do it. Perhaps High Lady Naoki had more cat-like traits to her than just the ears.

"Why, there's so much to do! You just need to be willing to get your feet wet a little bit. And besides...in Bayonne, you don't just get high. You soar. Around here, you can get the finest fairy dust in the world. Nothing else can compare. Believe me, it's nothing like the stuff you get in Isra. By the time it gets there, it's barely twenty percent pure. You haven't tried it until you've tried it straight from the source."

Winking and picking up the little cake, she carelessly dropped a golden coin on the countertop (far more than the cost of the cake) and asked:

"Would you like to?"

The Godmother barely saw the blow coming, and barely managed to even turn her head before the impact. The Dawn Rider's punch hit her right on the cheekbone, and she fell to the ground, clutching her face. She gasped in shock and rage for a moment, before composing herself and getting shakily to her feet. Seeing her cake splattered on the ground, she sighed in disappointment.

"L-look at what you've done. Ruined a perfectly good cake. And you struck me in the face...you monster."

She took a deep breath and looked Elizabeth in the eye, seemingly unperturbed by the bruise forming on the side of her face. When she spoke, her voice was calm and steady, without the slightest hint of a quiver.

"My dear girl, fairy dust isn't at all a bad thing. It doesn't ruin lives like you say. I use it myself, obviously. Look at me, I'm flawless. In fact, most people are perfectly capable of using fairy dust safely. The ones who you say have had their lives ruined...well, I'd just assume that they did it to themselves. Fairy dust isn't evil, child. It's...beautiful."

Carefully watching the situation develop, Naoki takes two swift steps backward just as Liz is raising her arm. Naoki’s left arm- the side Skarlet is standing on, reaches out to wrap around Skarlet’s shoulders, and pulls her back as well, against one of the walls of the bakery. Though Naoki does not speak, how tightly she is holding her daughter seems to say, “Stay very close to me.”

As Mr. Glaçage barrels past them with his rolling pin, Naoki reaches into her pouch, and extracts one of the gemstones from within. She holds it out of sight, concealed in her closed hand, but even so, blue light beens to seep out of the cracks between her fingers, growing in intensity with each passing moment. Something magical, no doubt. Additionally, Naoki’s earring begins to glimmer and shine with considerably more intensity than previously as she begins to reach out to her various points of contact and issue orders.

Artemis, for her part, takes up a stance of readiness directly before Naoki and presumably Skarlet, making it clear that she intends to allow Liz to handle the situation, but if anyone would like to have a go at Naoki, they’re going to need to get past her first.

The Godmother looked over at the angry Liz, then Naoki and the others, and then at the door with the griffin behind it. Goodness, tourists were annoying. She'd just come in for a cake, and had been struck across the face. Israns were so rude. She waved off the baker, giving him a grateful smile.

"What people do with it is their own business, dear. I assure you, a great number of people use it to no ill effect. I don't ruin lives. I simply distribute pleasure, distilled into a convenient sparkly dust. Nothing more, nothing less. I certainly don't go around hitting people for no reason."

She rubbed her face absently, reaching for her pocket with her right hand.

"Anyways, I've been to Isra. The stuff you get there is absolutely awful. Gutter trash. Around here, it's purer than mountain spring water."

The scene in the bakery is interrupted, when Echoes pops into existence. He is in the company of an exceptionally angry Task Force Commandant Viddik. The time mage stands to one side. He was here because his teleportation and time sight abilities would be invaluable in mitigating further disturbances.

As the dynamic duo appear suddenly, Naoki is somewhat alarmed, even going so far as to shift the position of the gemstone in her hand slightly. However, upon noticing the identity of the arrivals, and how they’re not reinforcements from the cartel, she exhales slightly, and dissipates the magic from her gem harmlessly.

As Viidik levels his gaze upon the room and begins to speak, Naoki eyes him back without any particular obvious sort of expression, simply watching and listening. She doesn’t quite blame them for intervening, or keeping such a close eye on her (she would have had the same done), but is quite surprised with the expediency of their response. A minute hadn’t even passed since the punch was thrown. These questions lead her to wonder if the pair of them- Echoes and Viddick, have anything better to with their time. Knowing Viddik from arm’s reach (as much as she cares to), she supposes that making arrests is probably more preferable to sitting around glaring at people, or perhaps yelling at his subordinates.

Naoki also finds it mildly amusing that this woman- apparently “Sasha Elat,” is a noble. They must hand out those titles more freely than Naoki previously thought.

Regardless, there still exists the matter of the arrests. After mulling it over for a moment, Naoki decides that she has no issues. She would have relished the opportunity to get a word in edgewise before the pair of them barged in so rudely, but whatever.

Having been addressed, she nods once in acknowledgement, but offers no words, intentionally not offering forgiveness. Not yet, at least. She does find it interesting to note that they- the Gauldish Government- is apparently able to stare up her skirt and respond within seconds, but were unaware of the whole drug problem. She was aware of the drugs even before she got here. Perhaps it only just became a problem, she muses.

Again regardless, the matter is mostly irrelevant at this point. Naoki turns to make eye contact with Liz, and offers a nod. A signal that displays her acquiescence with this development. Liz being ‘arrested’ in this way shouldn’t prove exceptionally troublesome, and she should go along with it.

Skarlet walks forward coolly now that the situation is done with, the authorities came in and did their job and nobody had to die. "Miss Finch, you got awfully upset at that woman, was this in any way personal I wonder? I'm not sure if it is impolite to ask but I ask if perhaps narcotics have taken a toll somewhere in your life prior? Someone you knew? Yourself?"

Skarlet spoke in the way she was taught by Leviath and Pilar, the way of speaking that grants Vampires their Charisma to convince their victims to do what they want. Skarlet was simply curious and hoped Elizabeth wouldn't mind. "Or perhaps you were just being a dutiful guardian to my mother and I. Either way I've expressed my hunch and interest."

Naoki had made some correct assumptions in her analysis of the situation. She had also made some erroneous ones. She was correct in her guess that the Gauldish government was keeping a close eye on her. In fact the travel papers that are issued act as a beacon for scrying among other things. Though the Gauldish government didn't monitor everyone who had them, they were keeping close watch on Naoki's for obvious reasons. Her assessment of what spurred Echoes and Viddik's arrival was off.

Preparations for the arrival of the two started when it was noted Naoki and Sasha were in the same building. Though they were not sure of her exact place within the organization, the spy network was aware the noble woman was connected to the Lutin Cartel. The warrants for her Sasha's capture were issued the moment the words Fairy Dust left Sasha's mouth. Even then the response was faster than normal. A fact which is easily explained when one remembers the time dilation powers Echoes possesses. Relative to the two the events had transpired nearly 30 minutes ago.

The Gauldish government was also quite aware of the drug problem in Bayonne. They had done much to mitigate it's spread to other cities. However, illicit substances and criminal behavior were nearly impossible to stamp out completely. This was largely due to the fact that they didn't have the resources to spy on everyone and everywhere. The Gauldish ward net could provide location information. The travel papers could provide scrying access. But they didn't have the man power to have eyes everywhere all the time. Also citizens of Gauldin didn't have travel papers only visitors. None of this would be explained to Naoki or her party of course. State secrets and methods had to be kept quiet.

Viddik snaps his fingers and invisible bands of air tether Sasha's hands to her side. With a gesture the woman is pulled forward to stand next to the commandant. It is an intensely unpleasant experience for her. He then says in a very low growl.

"Keep your mouth shut or I will shut it for you. You should just be grateful the warrant King Renaux issued specified that you had to be brought in alive. There is nothing I'd enjoy more than immolating you, you drug dealing floozy."

The mages eyes then turn to Naoki.

"If you have any questions Lady, you can ask them now. Otherwise you can ask at the nearest guard station. They can put you into contact with someone who can answer your questions."

"I grew up in a combination of an orphanage and the streets. I had a lot of friends lose their minds to the addiction of the drugs just due to their bad situations. Not a pretty sight. Still prettier than that...ahem woman, there."

She did not want to go into any more detail, knowing how young Skarlet still was, and even working around the Midnight Sun would not expose you to the seedy underbelly of a major city or port village.